In preparation for the upcoming school year, a new traffic light is currently being installed on 156th and Queen Creek to deal with the increasing traffic. The light is to be up before the start of the 2016-2017 school year.

The decision to put up the light was made to deal with the crowded school traffic and prevent accidents from happening as frequently.

“It was put up there after we had a series of accidents where people were trying to turn left, so it’ll definitely make it safer for people turning left at the intersection,” explained Student Resource Officer Jesse Allen.

Along with the traffic light, plans to purchase a second lot for student parking are in motion to account for Perry’s increasing population. The lot is located on the East side of the school, across from the D building.

Though the school already has board approval, Principal Dan Serrano stated that acquiring this land is not guaranteed.

“An accessor has to come in and assess what the land is worth, and we can’t pay more than the assessor says,” he explained. So, if the owners of this land ask for more than what the land is worth, the school no longer has the option to purchase it.

Serrano mentioned that the school is already working with the assessor, but it is a lengthy process.

Until this land can be purchased, the school will stick to the same system as last year: seniors will have the first chance to get a parking pass, and the remaining spots will be put in a lottery system for juniors.

Due to this limited number of spaces in the lottery system, several students have had to find other alternatives for getting to school.

Junior Anna Patriarche is among the many that have resorted to parking at Flipside and mentioned that a second lot would easily solve the inconvenience of all those in her situation.

“I think that’s a great idea because it would allow more people to get parking spots,” Patriarche said. “It would make the current parking lot less crowded because the school wouldn’t have to cram as many spots as possible into one lot.”